1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laryngeal mask airway for use with patients who are not able to breathe, and more particularly to a laryngeal mask airway that is convenient, comfortable and durable in use.
2. Description of Related Art
With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, a conventional laryngeal mask airway in accordance with the prior art comprises a laryngeal mask (50), a dual-airway tube (55) and a laryngeal mask inflation indicator device (60).
The laryngeal mask (50) is teardrop-shaped to adapt to the larynx and is divided into a curved bottom face (not numbered) and a bladder (52) around the curved bottom face. An opening (not numbered) is defined in the curved bottom and at least one rib (62) longitudinally projects from curved bottom face near and below the opening. The bladder (52) having a pointed end and a rear obtuse end is made of soft material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The bladder further has a tongue (54) extending forward from the pointed end of the bottom face inside the bladder (52) to prevent the bladder (52) refolding at the pointed end.
The dual-airway (55) communicates with the laryngeal mask (50) via the opening, has a connecting end and is composed of a primary tube (56) with an inner wall and a secondary tube (58) combined with the primary tube (56). The primary tube (56) is a large-bore tube made of resilient plastic material and communicates with the laryngeal mask (50) at the connecting end. The secondary tube (58) is formed inside walls of the primary tube (56) and has two ends. One end of the secondary tube (58) emerges from the primary tube (56) a distance from laryngeal mask (50) to connect to the inflation indicator device (60). The other end of the secondary tube (58) protrudes out from the primary tube (56) near the inflatable bladder (52) and directly communicates with the bladder (52).
However, the laryngeal mask airway still has the following drawbacks.
1. Although the tongue (54) can avoid the bladder (52) refolding at the pointed end, the tongue (54) also keeps a certain rigidity that may cause uncomfortable feeling when the tongue (54) abuts the larynx. Therefore, the laryngeal mask airway can not be smoothly placed into the patient's larynx.
2. With particular reference to FIG. 5, the laryngeal mask airway is easily  broken at a joint between the secondary tube (58) and the bladder (52) when teeth inside the oral cavity block the bladder (58) and the laryngeal mask airway is improperly drawn out. Therefore, the laryngeal mask airway is not durable.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantages of the conventional laryngeal mask airway.